Sonnets

History

• Created in Italy by Petrarch to write a famous series of poems about his love for Laura
• Wyatt introduced the form into English
• Shakespeare adapted it for ease of use with the English language

Form

• Italian has two parts: Octave (eight line) Sestet (six line) with rhyme scheme of abba abba cde cde (with sestet varying)
• The Octave is devoted to posing a problem
• The Sestet resolves it
• Shakespearean has four parts: Quatrains (three groups of four lines) Couplet (one concluding group of two lines)
• Rhyme scheme is abab cdcd efef gg
• Provides a three part argument or three illustrations of the same point (Quatrains)
• And a conclusion or comment on the point (Couplet)

Meter

• English sonnets: five groups of syllables known as "feet"
• "iamb" is commonly used which consists of one weak syllable followed by one strong syllable
• There are five iambs in a line and the meter is called "iambic pentameter"

Subject Matter

• Started out as love poetry
• Shakespeare wrote and began to do parody and fun in sonnets
• Post-Elizabethan poets use sonnet form for many subjects
• Most develop ideas through metaphors and similies to describe intangible feelings by bringing to mind tangible images

Information from "How to Write a Sonnet"

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Sonnets to Analyze

Sonnet E-Card Activity